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More relevantly, I really wish they would avoid saying things like “zero margin of error” or “neck snapping n-Gs”. The first irks me because I have heard people use it as an excuse to argue that space missions have only succeeded by luck, and therefore aren’t worthwhile, while the second leads those same type of people to say that clearly a manned space mission to mars is impossible, not understanding that in the case of a manned mission, the descent craft would be engineered quite differently. Of course, saying “0.001% margin of error” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

That’s why “telemedicine” robotic surgery is a fantasy. I once saw a simulation of a surgeon on earth, performing surgery on a martian astronaut using the Da Vinci surgery robot. Can you imagine how the time lag would affect scalpel movements?!? The moment the Surgeon said “Oops” the patient would have been long dead.

It’s simple – plan everything carefully beforehand. Any errors may be costly. All communications (and the matter of the communications) are carefully scheduled and monstrous radio telescopes on earth point toward Mars at the scheduled time. You don’t need the sort of interactions that you need in video games. The data transmission schemes used are very different from what we’d typically use on earth though since waiting 8 minutes or so (or over 8 hours for some spacecraft) for a signal to say “I missed something – can you repeat it?” is just not acceptable in many cases.

On the one hand this reentry scheme scares the shit out of me. So did the bouncy airbags that successfully landed the Mars Rovers.

On the other hand I’ve no doubt that it can work because I trust the people who are behind it. They have invested a huge portion of their lives which makes the financial investment pale by comparison. They have built a machine that is better than the ominous constrictions of time and distance.

On the gripping hand I know that I’ll be biting the nails thereof while watching NASA TV seven minutes behind reality. Not that it can be helped. I’ll not be gnawing alone.

Knowing that everyone else will be lagging to the same extent is no comfort; I do so dearly hope that Curiosity lands lighter than a feather can in so sparse an atmosphere. Fee fall, get thee behind me!